Over the weekend, I started reading Kurt Vonnegut: The Last Interview. He believed all writers should write for an audience of one to give writing intimacy and immediacy.
It took me about half a second to realize who is in my audience of one: it’s me as a child. I write every word to help her be brave. To help her know that a better, freer, happier, more fulfilling life awaits her. That all things and all dreams are possible. And yes, it will be difficult and there will be many times when she will want to quit. She will lose a lot of sleep and she will be very afraid, but it will all be worth it. I write to entertain her, to help her escape, to give her the courage to keep going. And I know there are lots of people out there, the tall and the small, who still need that encouragement and support.
Sadly, as much as the world has changed since I was a kid, this fact hasn’t: we spend too many days afraid. Reading helped me press on despite fear. Now as an adult, writing helps me do that. So I write – for me, for her, and for all the people like us who need to know that we can create our own bright future one day at a time.
Christa Avampato 